Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26429
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/26429
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Given that you haven't given us a lot of the givens...

_Not_ every romance is cliché. There are formulas, to be sure (c.f. Harlequin, Nicholas Sparks, Lifetime), but just because the tropes are heavily used doesn't mean you have to use them, or that they have to feel worn.

So: Pick up the nearest romance book and start making a list of the clichés. I don't have one to hand, so I'm just going to start riffing off the top of my head. These won't all necessarily be in the same story:

- Man and woman
- Meet cute
- Love at first sight
- Hate at first sight
- Mistaken identity
- Pretend relationship for the benefit of a third party
- Boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back
- Physical Mary Sue characteristics (heart-shaped face, vividly colored eyes, perfect physique [particularly without any effort like constant dieting or exercise], flowing/tousled hair)
- Person A is normally eloquent and intelligent but gets stupidly tongue-tied in the presence of Love Interest Person B
- Sassy Black/Gay Best Friend

You get the idea. So write down everything you can see in this romance in your hand.

Then make an effort to write something which _avoids_ as many of those as possible. Make it a same-sex slow burn. Have no jealous exes or disapproving parents. Create normal, rounded friends. Describe ordinary-looking people. And so on. _Brokeback Mountain_ is a heartbreakingly beautiful romance which I wouldn't describe as _clichéd_, even if it has "love at first sight" and "disapproving society" because it's fresh and uniquely done.

If you're worried about clichés, don't write them.

Original score: 3